How to Fold a Flag

May 6 Rhinebeck

Sun

5/6

11:00 am

Sunday May 6th at 11am, join the Engage Film Series for a benefit screening of How to Fold a Flag, followed by a panel discussion on current U.S. military actions and their costs to the American public (read the article that inspired this event here). Proceeds will benefit the Costs of War Project (suggested donation $10).

Panelists include: Filmmakers Michael Tucker & Petra Epperlein (How to Fold a Flag, Gunner Palace, Karl Marx City); Stephanie Savell, Project Director at Brown University’s Costs of War Project; Dan Gettinger, co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone; Christopher McIntosh, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Studies at Bard College; and Derek McGee, Marine veteran who served two tours in Iraq, and author of An Iraq Vet’s Journey from Wall Street to OWS (read here).How to Fold a Flag (USA / 2011 / Directed by Michael Tucker & Petra Epperlein) When the American flag is folded at a memorial service, each fold represents a virtue: liberty, unity, justice, valor, purity, sacrifice, honor, truth… But what do these virtues and other military ideals mean to soldiers who come home from war zones to a country largely isolated from, and at times indifferent to, their service? Tracking four soldiers from the same artillery unit back to their hometowns after serving in Iraq, How to Fold a Flag follows a cage fighter living under the shadow of a dishonorable discharge, a convenience store worker who expresses himself through heavy metal and sarcastic wit, an employee at a hog-processing plant who’s working toward a college degree through the GI Bill, and a Social Studies teacher running for Congress. As the men share time at home with those around them and find ways to define their wartime experience, the film makes palpable how war and its uncertainties become permanent parts of life for veterans and their families. Join us for a powerful film and an inspired discussion about current U.S. military practices at home and abroad. Unrated / 1 hr 25 mins.

“Through the engagement of significant numbers of concerned citizens, the status quo of war making might be reversed, and the rising tide of the US counterterror wars stemmed.” – Stephanie Savell

ENGAGE: Learn, Build, Act The ENGAGE series presents selected social justice documentary screenings at Upstate Films. Each film in the series touches upon an issue of our time. And each screening is followed by a panel discussion where attendees have the opportunity to learn more from people directly impacted by the issue. Audiences leave with a card listing steps for how to take action in their community.

Local groups are coming together to underwrite and present ENGAGE screenings, enabling the events to be presented for free. Donations are taken at the door (suggested donation $10) to benefit designated organizations working on the ground in the Hudson Valley.